The present invention relates to closures for window and door openings and pertains particularly to an improved shutter assembly.
Shutters of various types have been widely used for covering window openings in buildings for controlling the ingress of light and air through the window opening. Many forms of shutters are available, and each have their own advantages and disadvantages. One of the more popular types of shutters is the pivoting or hinged louvered type, wherein louvers are mounted for pivoting about a horizontal axis to control the degree of opening between the louvers.
Other pivoting louvers are available that pivot about a vertical axis. These louvered types generally have an advantage of ease of adjustment over a wide range. However, they have the disadvantages of being rather fragile and difficult to clean. They also require a large amount of space within which to pivot.
Another type of shutter is that of a sliding panel within a frame to alternately cover and uncover an opening. A typical example of this construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,073, issued Jul. 5, 1977 to Bogan. This patent discloses a ladder like fixed panel mounted within a frame structure, with a vertically moveable ladder like frame mounted within or to the first panel by a tongue and groove construction. The moveable panel is moveable vertically to provide various degrees of openings between the slots thereof and those of the fixed panel. Magnets are utilized to secure the moveable panel in its closed vertical position. Among the major problems with this construction is that it is difficult to adjust to any position between full open and full closed. Moreover, the moveable panel must be moved against its weight, and therefore must be supported by carefully selected magnets or some complex latch or other mechanism.
Another drawback to the aforementioned construction is that the tongue and groove moveable panel requires unusually accurate and precise construction. Also, it is subject to jamming due to warping, unusual wear, dirt and debris, and other factors.
Another example of the sliding panel type of shutter is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 1,860,648, issued May 31, 1932 to Bokan. This patent discloses a door or window closure having sliding panels, alternate screens and glass panels for converting alternately from a storm door or structure into a screen door or structure. This patent discloses both vertically slideable panels and horizontally slideable panels. These suffer from similar drawbacks to those previously described.
In the parent application, I disclose a shutter assembly wherein a front stationary panel is formed of a gridwork of openings. A horizontally sliding panel having a similar gridwork of openings is mounted behind the front panel and moveable to alternate positions of opening and blocking the openings. This assembly has the drawback of having only an open position for both air and light and a closed position for both light and air. It also sometimes has a problem of warping, particularly for larger thin panels.
It is, therefore, desirable that improved shutter assemblies be available that overcome the above problems.